ALBANY >> The deteriorating finances of upstate school districts prompted calls Wednesday from legislators to reverse state aid cuts and from the teachers union to overturn Gov. Andrew Cuomo's property tax cap.

NYSUT said it has filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the tax cap unconstitutional because "it arbitrarily caps property tax levy increases, under a complicated formula, at about 2 percent and, thus, locks in and perpetuates funding inequities between affluent and low-wealth school districts." The union claims it is illegal to require a 60 percent supermajority vote to exceed the cap.

Asked about the lawsuit, Cuomo said the union has the right to go to court, but he expressed confidence in the legality of the tax cap.

Shortly after NYSUT announced the lawsuit, legislators held a press conference to warn that many school districts have reached a breaking point because of cuts made necessary by a reduction in state aid that dates back to Gov. David Paterson's brief time in office.

Advertisement

"Public schools have absorbed $2.7 billion in budget cuts in 2010 and 2011," group said "Those cuts were especially devastating for high needs districts, where the cuts per pupil were much higher than for high-wealth districts."

The cuts have resulted in teacher and staff layoffs, fewer advanced placement classes, reductions in music and art classes, and less funding for sports and other program.

"We hear you," said newly elected State Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk (D-Schenectady County), who organized Wednesday press conference. "We understand it is getting very difficult to adequately provide the educational programs in our school districts. This is not a Democratic-Republican issue, this is an issue that is important to all of us."

The group sent Cuomo a letter requesting action in several areas, including:

o Provide $203 million in Fiscal Stabilization Funding through an equitable restoration of "Gap Elimination Adjustment" (GEA) funds cut under a Paterson initiative. The GEA was put in place to cut a $10 billion budget shortfall by reducing state aid to schools districts.

o Reallocate the $50 million in management efficiency and performance improvement grant funds to the GEA restoration distribution;

o Ensure that any additional money targeted for bullet aid (more than $41 million in the last two budgets) or any unused funds from the 2012-13 competitive grant allocation go to the GEA restoration distribution;

o Adjust the formulas for GEA restoration and additional foundation aid to maximize equity based upon fiscal capacity and student need, and

o Add $350 million in new school aid funding and prioritize high and average needs districts.